Immigration law scaled back

In deciding whom to stop, police may not factor in race, ethnicity or national origin

PHOENIX - State lawmakers voted late Thursday to repeal one of
the more controversial provisions from the new law aimed at illegal
immigration.

It was among the last things lawmakers did before adjourning the
regular legislative session about 11 p.m.

HB 2162, approved by the House and Senate, changes the law to
specify that when deciding whom to question about immigration
status, police may not use race, ethnicity or national origin as a
factor.

That is a significant change from SB 1070 as it was approved by
lawmakers and signed less than a week ago by Gov. Jan Brewer. That
version of the law permits police to consider any of those factors
when deciding if there is "reasonable suspicion" someone is not in
this country legally, as long as it is not the only reason for
investigating further.

Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, defended the original provision as
being relevant, saying 90 percent of those in this country
illegally are from Mexico and points south.

But by Thursday, after the filing of two lawsuits challenging
the new law on several grounds, including racial profiling, Pearce
backed off. He said the provision is probably unnecessary, as the
U.S. Constitution already precludes racial profiling.

What the change does, Pearce said, is remove a target for foes,
both those in court and those criticizing the measure in speeches
and demonstrations.

"I'm just tired of the games played by the left," he said.
Pearce said making the change and leaving pretty much everything
else the same "strengthens the bill's ability of being enforced
without letting the left leverage bad stuff."

But another change negotiated between Brewer and legislators
could have an even more sweeping effect.

As originally approved, SB 1070 requires police to determine the
immigration status of those with whom they have "lawful contact" if
there is reasonable suspicion the person is not here legally.

That "reasonable suspicion" language remains. But the language
about "contact" is replaced with a reference to "stop, detention or
arrest." Paul Senseman, the governor's spokesman, said the changes
effectively reduce checking immigration status to "secondary
enforcement."

"There have to be other steps, such as another law being broken
first," he said, before an officer could, with reasonable
suspicion, inquire if a person is a citizen or legal resident.

He compared it to Arizona's seat-belt laws: Police cannot stop a
motorist solely because the person is unbuckled. But officers can
issue a ticket for failing to buckle up if the driver is stopped
for some other reason.

Senseman said both charges are designed to undermine lawsuits
seeking to have the law overturned on the premise that it allows
officers to stop and question anyone who looks like an illegal
immigrant. He said the secondary enforcement language strengthens
provisions in the original bill designed to reassure illegal
immigrants who are crime victims or witnesses that they can call
police without being asked about their legal status.

The language in HB 2162 cannot amend SB 1070, which has been
signed into law. But since SB 1070 won't take effect until 90 days
from now, putting the altered verbiage into the other bill means
that, when both become law on the same day, the later-adopted
revisions will take precedence.

Pearce said he doesn't believe either change will make it harder
for an officer to question someone who is suspected of being an
illegal immigrant. "The reason we made these clarifications is to
make it a stronger case in court," he said. "This is a tough bill.
We didn't water it down."